Penny Marshall's Favorite Street

Photos by Vanessa Stump

From left: Beverly Center, Nobu and SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

SARAH ELBERT

Today she may be best known for directing modern classics A League of Their Own and Big, but Penny Marshall first inspired single young women everywhere as the sassy, wise-cracking Shotz brewery worker Laverne DiFazio. And like her character on Laverne and Shirley, Marshall still calls ‘em as she sees ‘em—in her signature Bronx lilt. The actor, director, producer, sports fan and author (her memoir, My Mother Was Nuts, hits bookstores this month) grew up in the Bronx, but she moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s and today spends most of her time there. Marshall says you can find just about anything today on La Cienega, from buzzy new restaurants and greasy spoon diners to rug stores, art galleries and gyms. “And it has gas stations, which is important,” she says. “In LA you need gas stations, because you drive a lot.”

“I used to go to the Coronet Theatre,” she says of the space now known as Largo at Coronet, which features live music, comedy, readings, etc. “It has good shows.”

The stretch of La Cienega near Melrose Avenue is a good place to shop for your floors, Marshall says: “You could be in Turkey, you could be in Iran . . . it has a lot of rug stores.”

“Right off of La Cienega, there’s the Beverly Center, which has shopping, restaurants—and movies, which people seem to like,” she says dryly. “Though I’m a little scared of malls.”

Koi is “a very hip restaurant” on La Cienega, Marshall says, along with one of her favorites, Nobu. “You run into celebrities if you go to those places—if you’re looking for that kind of thing.”

Servaas Engels

Last week I travelled with DL104 and read an article that contained a recipe for pork ribs. I forgot to take note of it. Can you send me a copy of that recipë? I think it was the August edition. Thank you very much!